True, but with regard to lifestyle:
I don't fly what is on the roster; the roster is constant change and disruption. I don't fly that much compared to the RYR, EZE & BMI pilots, but the flying I do is often with minimum rest and of late and for the rostered future I seemed to have late finishes and early starts around days off. I have similar days off every week.
The leave we get is watered down because we are not always given wrap round days around leave. We were promised two wrap round days around periods of leave of 6 days or more, but the reality is we don't always get it. Unlike the office staff who get 9 days off for 5 days leave, starting leave Friday night and returning Monday morning.
For aircrew to achieve a guaranteed 9 days off; i.e. a normal leave week, we have to book 9 days leave. Our leave entitlement is 28 days plus bank holidays to total 36 days leave a year, or 4 weeks if taken as individual weeks. We can request 2 days off around leave, but that is not guaranteed any more than the wrap round leave days are.
The lifestyle is only acceptable because winter is quiet; the airline is very seasonal. That will change as the airline grows.